Jul 5 (Island) Govt should vaccinate all school workers before reopening schools, Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) General Secretary, Joseph Stalin said. Unless teachers and non-academic workers were vaccinated, there was a possibility of a super spreader situation in schools. Stalin said that prior to school reopening, the govt had decided to establish study centres, to provide online facilities to students who did not otherwise have access to them, under the guidance of two teachers each. more..

Jul 5 (FT) A shipment of 26,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are due to arrive today, with another 26,000 doses expected next week. State Minister Prof. Channa Jayasumana, 60,000 doses of the vaccine will arrive during the third week of July and 90,000 doses of the vaccine will reach the island during the fourth week of July. “Health Ministry’s committee on infectious diseases has recommended using the Pfizer vaccine as the second dose for persons who received more..

Jul 5 (EN) SL’s overall budget deficit of 520.5 billion rupees for the first four months of 2021 has overtaken revenues of 481.7 billion rupees in a remarkable development, data showed, following tax cuts in Dec 2019 compounded by a Coronavirus pandemic. SL slashed value added taxes in Dec 2019 without approval of the island’s parliament in as stimulus fever gripped the urban intelligentsia in its history earning a downgrade more..

Jul 5 (EN) SL is treading on the path of John Law, an 18 century French Mercantilist who drove France to a monetary meltdown with an early central bank, in implementing so-called Modern Monetary Theory debauching the currency, an opposition legislator has charged. SL cut taxes sharply in Dec 2019 in a fiscal stimulus and started printing in large quantities following several rate cuts in early 2020 in a monetary stimulus. “Look at the problems in fiscal policy. What was the benefit of cutting taxes?” more..

Jul 5 (FT) Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau Chairman Kamal Ratwatte has passed away at a private hospital in Colombo on Saturday and was cremated at the Borella Cemetery. He was 61 years old at the time of his death. Ratwatte had previously held positions of Deputy Chairman of the Airport and Aviation Services Authority and Working Director of the former National Insurance Corporation. He was also a former Basnayake Nilame of the Sri Sumana Saman Dewalaya in Ratnapura. more..

Jul 5 (FT) A total of 1,573 persons tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday and the Health Ministry stated that PCR samples of the contacts of COVID-19 patients detected with the Delta variant are being collected and will be sent to the Sri J'pura University for testing. On Saturday, the Health Ministry stated that studies carried out by the Sri J'pura University found 14 samples with the Delta variant. more..

Jul 5 (FT) Air France has announced Colombo-Male flights thrice a week from November this year; a move which the travel and tourism industry, whilst welcoming, have urged the authorities to maximise its benefits to Sri Lanka. “At a time when the world is experiencing a 90% downturn in international tourism, giant airline operator Air France considering to operate to Colombo and Malé shows the confidence they have in the SL and Maldives combination,” Connaissance De Ceylan more..

Jul 5 (FT) Sustaining its brand visibility and universal appeal on a global platform, Sri Lanka Tourism is once again in the spotlight with the recent recognition by Bloomberg Businessweek. Sri Lanka Tourism said in a statement that the Sigiriya Rock Fortress was listed as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, making Sri Lanka the only Asian country to make it onto the list along with six other iconic sites appealing to the new age traveller with a thirst for adventure. more..

Jul 5 (FT) In a major boost to kick-start stalled key businesses, Prez Rajapaksa has approved the partial reopening of hotels and restaurants from today as well as putting the tourism sector under a priority COVID vaccination program. Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga has written to Health Minister Pavithradevi Wanniarachchi informing of the Prez’s decision and subsequent discussions with her as a follow-up. more..

Jul 5 (EN) India Navy Ship Sarveskshak, which was deployed to help Sri Lanka find containers and debris that fell off the burnt out container vessel X-Press Pearl had found 54 pieces of underwater debris and a shipwreck. INS Sarvekshak had conducted an 807 mile side scan sonar survey using on board sensors and two survey boats during bad weather in an exercise that would otherwise have been delayed till after the current monsoon ends, India’s High Commission in Colombo said. more..

Jul 5 (Island) Attorney-at-Law Nagananda Kodituwakku yesterday said that he intends to move the Supreme Court this week against the Chairman of the Election Commission (EC), Nimal Punchihewa, for accommodating UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on the National List, in contravention of Section 99A of the Constitution. Attorney-at-Law Punchihewa, who previously served as a member of the Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL), couldn’t be unaware of more..

Jul 5 (FT) Govt on Friday revised down the 2021 economic growth forecast to 4.5-5% from the previous prediction of 6% due to the impact of the third wave of COVID pandemic. “The 6% growth projection by the Central Bank was prior to the third wave of COVID-19. It is an ambitious target, yet difficult to achieve at this juncture. It is more realistic to say that we will achieve a 4.5% to 5% growth this year,” State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal said more..

Jul 5 (AD) On the directives from the President, walk-in COVID vaccination programs will begin from Monday (5) at selected hospitals operated by the tri-forces, says General Shavendra Silva. According to the army commander, people above the age of 30 years in Western Province can now get vaccinated at the following tri-forces hospitals: Army hospitals in Narahenpita, Panagoda and Werahera, Air Force hospitals in Borella, Guwanpura, Katunayake, Ratmalana and Ekala more..

Jul 5 (CT) Athletes of the SL team who participated in the National Inter-State Athletics Meet held in Patiala, India, who were quarantining at the Sugathadasa Hotel affiliated to the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, had violated quarantine laws and held a drinks party on 3 July night. The management of the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium had made a complaint yesterday to Minister Namal Rajapaksa in this connection. In the complaint, it is stated that when these sportsmen and women more..

Jul 5 (DN) Teachers have decided to boycott the Regional Learning Centres that will be unveiled by the Ministry of Education today (5) to facilitate online education as they are yet to be provided the Covid-19 vaccine on a priority basis. Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union (CTSU) and Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) warned that teachers would not report to work at these centres until the Covid-19 vaccine is given to them. more..

Jul 5 (DM) While claiming that issues faced by the country would not be resolved through Basil Rajapaksa's entry to Parliament, State Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara said Cabinet and State Ministries were designated by Basil Rajapaksa. "The issues will not vanish the day after Basil Rajapaksa takes up the ministerial port folio. The country is going through an immense struggle. We must tell this to the people. There is a dollar crisis in the country. more..

Jul 5 (DN) Nearly USD 50 million worth of personal cargo shipped by SL expatriate workers perished with the sinking of the MV Xpress Pearl vessel and no steps have been taken to compensate for these losses. CBA said that in addition to these personal effects, some of the sunk cargo also included beauty products, perfumes and other such items bound for Pettah Merchants. “Most of the cargo perished in the sea were sent from the employees who are working in the Gulf and other regions. more..

Jul 5 (CT) Issuing further guidelines, to be implemented from today (5), Director General Health Services, Dr. Asela Gunawaradana, said although restrictions that prevailed for the past 14 days were to be further relaxed, restrictions on inter-provincial movement were to remain unchanged for another 14 days. He also said a few additional moderate level restrictions will remain in the Western Province as a precautionary measure in a bid to control more..

Jul 5 (FT) In the wake of SL’s foreign exchange crisis graduating from acute to severely acute, CB Governor Deshamanya Prof W.D. Lakshman has appealed for calmness which everyone should do in his view in national interest. Reiterating the Govt’s commitment to meet all foreign exchange liabilities on time, he has blamed the speculators, political elements, and the media for the current mishap: “We have also observed that some segments of the SL community motivated by political reasons more..

Jul 5 (Island) A former public official has, in a letter published on the opposite page today, highlighted what China is allegedly doing to some African nations. He has asked SL to beware of such schemes. There are many others who are on the same page as the retired administrator, but the SL rulers have chosen to ignore their warnings. Several other powerful states are furthering their geo-strategic interests at the expense of this country. The aforesaid warning reminds us of the plight of an underage SL girl more..

Jul 5 (DN) Minister Chamal Rajapaksa said that Prez Rajapaksa banned the use of chemical fertilizers as its use has caused health problems especially for people suffering from a number of Non Communicable Diseases such as Chronic Kidney disease. He added that that certain political parties with vested interests are behind the protests staged against the ban on chemical fertilizer imports. “Prez Rajapaksa had decided to ban chemical fertilizers because of the health effects more..

Jul 5 (AD) The first consignment of 26,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine purchased by the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) arrived in SL this morning, State Minister Prof. Channa Jayasumana said. The SPC has ordered a total of 200,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine while this is the first delivery of that purchase. He stated that another 26,000 doses are expected to arrive next week with another 60,000 and 90,000 more expected in the third and fourth weeks of July respectively. more..

Jul 5 (Island) The Army yesterday denied allegations made by the GMOA last week that the security forces continued to interfere with the anti-COVID-19 activities carried out by health officials in the Eastern Province. The Army said on 01 July, the GMOA claimed that it representatives from the East had informed that security forces were meddling with the vaccination programme as well. Although the GMOA wrote to the Secretary to the Ministry of Health, and copied the letter to more..

Jul 5 (FT) Reiterating its commitment to expanding connectivity to every corner of the nation, Dialog Axiata, the widest network in SL, launched its 4,000th network tower in Thihawa village, Kurunegala, to further expand coverage to rural communities in the area. In its continued efforts to expand coverage and support customers during these unprecedented times, Dialog has added 515 new towers to the network during the pandemic period reaching 4000 mobile 4G sites in its network, more..

Jul 5 (TM) Construction of three production villages have been initiated in Dickwella under the patronage of State Minister of Samurdhi Shehan Semasinghe. Kottagoda-Suduwella Umbalakada and Karawala Production Village, Walagas Production Village, Walampala Village, Walagas Production Village Production villages are to be activated. Up to a maximum of Rs. 100,000, bank loans and technical advice will be provided to selected beneficiaries in these villages to enhance their industry. more..

Jul 5 (EN) SL’s main opposition the SJB is open to joining hands with the UNP provided the latter undergoes a purification of its fraudulent and surreptitious deals with the govt, the party said. “The doors of the SJB are open for the UNP if only it wishes to join hands with us after necessary purifications and, if, on the other hand, it wishes to continue its journey along the road of further downfall, we have no option left but to sympathise with its downfall,” more..

Jul 5 (CT) Following the European Union members urging their Parliament to revoke GSP Plus concession for SL by adopting a resolution, as it did not keep to their 27 mandates, trade unions met Minister Dinesh Gunawardena last week. Concerns by SL Trade Unions regarding resolutions passed by the EU Parliament and the possible risk of GSP+ withdrawal were discussed at the Foreign Ministry. The meeting was co-chaired by Ministers Gunawardena and Nimal Siripala de Silva with the participation of more..

Jul 5 (EN) A Seeudwa urban councillor representing SL’s main opposition the SJB has fled the area after allegedly assaulting a female councillor representing the UNP over a Facebook post, police said. The incident had occurred on Saturday, two days after the UNP invited SJB and leader Sajith Premadasa to rejoin the UNP. Premadasa led an exodus of senior and junior UNPers to leave Sri Lanka’s so called grand old party to form the SJB in the run-up to last year’s parliamentary polls. more..

Jul 5 (AD) SL Police have arrested a total of 32 individuals over the case of a 15-year-old girl being sold online for sexual exploitation. Based on a complaint received by the Mount Lavinia Police on June 21, the Colombo Child & Women Bureau of SL Police launched an investigation into the matter. By July 3, a total of 28 persons including the mother of the victimized teen, the vice-chairman of Mihintale Pradeshiya Sabha, vehicle drivers, the man who designed the advertisement and more..

Jul 5 (TM) The COPE has summoned SriLankan Airlines before the Committee in order to review its current performance, tomorrow (6) said the Secretary General of Parliament Dhammika Dasanayake. Furthermore, the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation and the National Housing Development Authority have been summoned before the COPE Committee on the 07th and 08th July respectively. The COPE Committee is scheduled to meet under the chairmanship of Prof. Charitha Herath, Member of Parliament. more..

Jul 5 (CI) SL batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa has been fined $5000 for a breach of contract and is essentially on probation for two years, having been handed a one-year ban as a suspended sentence. SLC dealt out these punishments for breaching the obligations of Player Contract 2019-2020 while appearing in social and other media interviews, according to an official release. Rajapaksa has been publicly protesting his continued omission from SL's major teams, most recently suggesting he should have been more..

Jul 5 (CI) The anti-corruption tribunal of the ICC has banned Sanath Jayasundara, a former Sri Lanka Cricket performance analyst, from all cricket for seven years after he was found guilty of breaching the ICC anti-corruption code. In January 2019, Jayasundara had attempted to bribe Sri Lanka's then sports minister Harin Fernando to try and "influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of an international match". more..

Jul 5 (EN) Washington-based World Bank said it is funding 800,000 Pfizer vaccines as part of a program to help Sri Lanka get 5 million doses of Coronavirus vaccines by the year end and is also funding oxygen generating machines. The first batch has just arrived in Sri Lanka. “The delivery of this first batch of vaccines reflects the joint work of the govt of SL and its partners to ensure fair access to safe and effective vaccines for Sri Lankans,” Faris H. Hadad-Zervos, more..

Jul 5 (SLN) Supporting the COVID-19 vaccination programme carried out by the Armed Forces Hospitals of tri-services focusing on the people of the Western Province, to control the transmission of the pandemic, SL Navy is conducting inoculation drives to administer Sinopharm vaccine at the Lighthouse premises on Chaithya Road Colombo and Elapitiwela Chandrawansha Vidyalaya in Ragama commencing from today. Accelerating the vaccination programme set about by the Govt to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, more..

Jul 5 (TM) Another judge has recused himself from hearing the Fundamental Rights (FR) petitions filed by MP Rishad Bathiudeen and his brother Riyaj Bathiudeen challenging their arrest and detention over the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks. FR petitions were taken up today before a 3-member judge bench consisting of SC Justices Murdu Fernando, Achala Vengappuli and Mahinda Samayawardena. However, Justice Mahinda Samayawardena then informed that he would be recusing himself more..

Jul 5 (DM) Along with the govt's COVISHIELD vaccination programme, a significant number of teachers have been given the vaccine, the Education Minister, Prof. Peiris, said. Prez had approved providing the vaccine for teachers and the vaccination programme would be completed within a week for every teacher. "The teachers will feel more secure after completing the vaccination rollout and the parents will also be able to send their children to school with confidence," Minister said. more..

Jul 5 (DM) The trade union action launched by several trade unions linked to health sector today, could make things related to COVID-19 worse in the country leaving health services in a fix, the Health authorities pointed out. Deputy Director-General of Health Services Dr Hemantha Herath said the vaccination programme had been somewhat hampered due to the trade union action. “It is really unfair to carry out trade union action at this point of time while the whole country is battling to overcome more..

Jul 5 (DM) State Minister Nimal Lanza, who is perceived be close confidant of SLPP National Organizer Basil Rajapaksa said Minister Dayasiri Jayaekara should resign from his post if it was unsuitable for him, making way for another from his party to take over. Lanza made this remark in the wake of Jayasekara grumbling about the state ministry assigned to him. Jayasekara said he got one of the 'funny ministries' created. Lanza said, “After Basil Rajapaksa arrives, he will create a programme more..